A screen shot of the satirical news article that The Medium, a Rutgers publication, has since apologized for.

NEW BRUNSWICK – A satirical Rutgers University publication that has always courted controversy has apologized for a story that compared sisters at a sorority to wildebeests and elephants.

"Since our paper is satirical in nature and no stranger to controversy, it is rare that we apologize for our content," The Medium wrote on its Facebook page yesterday. "However, it is the feeling of this editorial board that the article in question merits an apology. It was written in a cruel, debasing manner that does not reflect the values or goals of our organization."

An archived version of the satirical story, which uses a vulgarity aimed at women in a sub-headline, can be found here. The Medium, which pulled the story from its website, originally wrote: "After 25 years of promoting positive body image and 'Ugliness Acceptable,' the Alpha Chi Omega Sorority will be closing its Rutgers doors after this year, citing budget problems and the fact that no female in their right mind wants to be associated with them."

Accompanying the story was a picture of a cow outside of a barn adorned with the Greek letters alpha, chi and omega.

"The reaction we received was humbling, and represented a community of readers that stood in solidarity for the sisters of Alpha Chi Omega," the paper wrote in its apology.

The student newspaper at Rutgers, The Daily Targum, chided The Medium in an editorial on Wednesday: "Tsk, tsk, tsk. You dropped the ball on this one, Medium."

The paper noted that the article came out during National Eating Disorders Week, but argued: "Sure, the article was false journalistic trash, but how is that different from any other article that The Medium has ever written? It’s a satirical newspaper — that’s what it’s supposed to do. Offend people. And if it is going to decide to apologize for offending this one particular group of people, then it should plan to apologize for every other organization and individual that the publication has publicly humiliated."